Azerbaijan-U.S. military cooperation agreement extended

Agreement on military cooperation between Azerbaijan and the United States was extended for five years.

Chairman of Azerbaijani Parliament's Security and Defence Committee, Ziyafet Asgarov, who spoke at the committee's meeting held on Dec. 18, spoke about the draft laws on 'On the approval of the Agreement between the Defence Ministry of Azerbaijan Republic and U.S. Department of Defence (USA-AZE-02) on purchasing equipment and mutual service' and 'On making changes to the Charter of Garrison and Guard Services of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan'.

The agreement signed between Azerbaijan and the U.S. was approved in 2003, Ziyafet Asgarov said. The 10-year agreement was signed for simplification of mutual material-technical provision. Asgarov said that the agreement with the U.S. will lose effect this month and the draft law has been presented to the parliament for its extension and making several amendments.

The MPs noted that the extension of this agreement is a vivid example of the high level military cooperation between the two countries. During the meeting it was noted that the second draft law includes the implementation of the law 'On the rights and freedoms of persons in custody'.

After discussions both draft laws were recommended for debate at the parliament's plenary session.